Also This Week …
The Writers� League of Texas has announced that novelist Sarah Bird will receive the organization�s second annual Award of Literary Merit, following Ann Patchett. 2006 is shaping up to be a good year for the beautiful and talented Bird, whose sixth �real� novel (she has also made a name for herself in the romance and mystery genres, not to mention screenwriting and journalism), The Flamenco Academy, will be released by Knopf in June. She�ll be honored by the WLT on September 15 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. �It�s a giant thrill,� she says, �but I�m worried, because Ann Patchett was such a phenomenal speaker that I�m scared they�re gonna expect to be dazzled again. Dream effin� on.� For more information, see www.writersleague.org and www.randomhouse.com/knopf/authors/bird/index.html.The postmark application deadline for the 2006-07 Dobie Paisano Fellowships is Friday, Jan. 27. Applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements: be a native Texan, have lived in Texas for at least two years, or have published writing that has a Texas subject. Visit www.utexas.edu/ogs/Paisano/info.html or e-mail Dr. Audrey N. Slate, director, at aslate@mail.utexas.edu to find out more.
Notable Upcoming Events of Interest …
February is a big month at Barnes & Noble Arboretum: Austin�s Elizabeth Crook is the store�s featured author, and she�ll do a reading and signing there on Feb. 7 at 7pm. Look for the Chronicle�s review of Crook�s The Night Journal in the coming weeks. Look for Lily Tomlin � yeah, Lily Tomlin � at the store on Feb. 11, 7:30pm, signing copies of the DVD The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. And look for Bill Simmons signing his Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN�s Sports Guy Found Salvation, With a Little Help From Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox on Feb. 15 at 7:30pm.This article appears in January 27 • 2006.